


The Picture of Yuki Judai

by wekkabakka



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: ...idk how to tag a one-sided relationship and for that i am sorry, Cliche, Gen, manjoume might seem ooc, once i get good at writing it's all over for you, originally a dorian gray retelling, why do i make johan yearn? projection.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:34:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28544928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wekkabakka/pseuds/wekkabakka
Summary: He put a hand to his face and felt a wetness that wasn’t paint, and pulled it away to see tears.Was he crying?Then, the even worse thought.Did Manjoume try to cheer him up because he was caught crying?
Relationships: Johan Andersen | Jesse Anderson & Manjoume Jun | Chazz Princeton, Johan Andersen | Jesse Anderson & Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki, Johan Andersen | Jesse Anderson/Yuuki Juudai | Jaden Yuki
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	The Picture of Yuki Judai

Light came in through the grand northern and only window of the studio, its warmth at odds with the time of year. The room was empty save for a bluenet holding a wide brush dipped in black paint. In front of him was a portrait that took him hours to do. The hand was steady after years of practicing, but there was a tremor in his lip.

This is what his art was. Taking the most beautiful and painstaking attempts at realism, with its many hues of skin and light and shadow, then adding vibrant, thick bars where he deemed fit. It wasn’t always bars. There were hearts, polka dots, and an entire letter of gratitude atop his other pieces, but this was different. There was nothing cute to declare here, no call for friendship nor comfort which would surround and often cover the person in the painting.

Johan made the mistake of putting his heart into the portrait. No, he fatally fell for the subject: Yuki Judai. That boy was his darkness, and what a gentle darkness it was, begging Johan to stay in bed instead of leaving to turn on the lights. Making him shiver from the cold, spine tingling just in the presence of his muse.

He would never say any of that, though. Judai was so innocent, even while an agent of darkness. Whatever feeling felt like a beacon shining in Johan’s heart must be ignored. It was a light of destruction which corrupts. Makes perverse.

No, his heart’s light was also gentle, but he dares not risk it. Yet, he dares not risk losing what little of Judai will be left after Duel Academia’s exchange program ends. A drop of black falls back onto the plastic palette, landing in a well of white paint.

Red and brown hues dominated the palette, with extra care put into the face and jacket of the proudest Osiris Red student. He planned to paint bars over the shoulders, the groin, and the eyes. Then again, what good does planning do for the artist when the heart is never as meticulous as the brain?

Johan was so wrapped up in whether this piece should be in his stylized portfolio that he didn’t notice another person enter the studio. Manjoume grabbed the brush and put a moustache on the gem duelist’s face, thick handlebars covering virtually the entire upper lip.

“Now will you respond to my hello? I went out of my way to greet you, only for you to ignore me!” the elite griped, before bursting into laughter.

Johan laughed, too. No way could he not, with such love of these kinds of antics. He put a hand to his face and felt a wetness that wasn’t paint, and pulled it away to see tears.

_Was he crying?_

Then, the even worse thought.

_Did Manjoume try to cheer him up because he was caught crying?_

Manjoume took a glance at whatever Johan was trying to paint and gave a low whistle. The slacker actually looked pretty nice when caught at a good angle. The smile caught a lot of the innocence as well. He looked down at the brush he was holding and got confused. This didn’t look like it was used to paint any of the black parts of the piece, since the detailing of the jacket was done with a fine-tipped brush instead of this one made for walls.

“What, did you break up with him already?” he teased, looking expectantly at the other boy. Everyone except Judai felt he gay longing from a mile away. Even Karen picked up on it, biting an unenthused Sho whenever she got the chance.

Johan wasn’t mysterious, but hearing that his crush at first sight was not subtle made his face go red. He made sure to not make any obvious moves. Those flared, frilly sleeves were to give whoever he touched a light, almost ticklish feeling, and Judai was touched quite a bit, even when not being carried in a perilous situation. The handing over of booster packs. Holding his shoulder as a greeting. The seemingly accidental brush against his neck when pulled in for a hug. Maybe the delicate contact was heavy-handed.

“It’s over, and it never even began,” was all the gem duelist could say back, the residue of a smile still on his face.


End file.
